In the book The Crooked Shall Be Made Straight, Israeli writer S.Y. Agnon tells the story of a simple, godly man named Menashe. He runs a grocery store that slowly goes broke because, being so generous a man, Menashe cannot bear to ask money from customers who cannot afford to pay. His ruthless competitors eventually run him our of business, and he has to resort to travelilng from town to town begging. The village rabbi takes pity on poor, decent Menashe and gives him a letter commending him as a good and honest man who is deserving of charity.
Menashe begs for over a year, eventually collecting enough to restart his business. On his last night on the road, before returning home to begin his life again, he lodges at an inn and happens upon a local con man. This man is as vile and contemptible as Menashe is good and upright. When he sees Menashe's letter of commendation from the rabbi, his eyes light up. "If I had a letter like that I would never have to work another day in my life," he glowers, and then offers Menashe a substantial amount of money to purchase the letter. Tempted by the opportunity to virtually double his money and knowing that he no longer needs the rabbi's letter, Menashe sells the document. Then, with more money than he's ever seen before, he decides to celebrate his good fortune. Perhaps motivated also by shame at having sold the honorable rabbi's letter, Menashe gets horribly drunk and in his stupor is robbed of everything he has, even his prayer shawl. With not enough money to get home, Menashe is reduced to begging again.
In the meantime, the liar and con man is set upon by robbers and murdered. His body is mutilated beyond recognition, so that when his corpse is found with Menashe's letter in the pocket, it is immediately assumed that it is in fact Menashe who has been murdered. His wife is notified of her husband's death. Some months later she remarries, and a year later she gives birth to a son just as the destitute Menashe drags himself home. He arrives in town just as his wife and her husband are celebrating the circumcision of their child.
Menashe, the decent man, is in a terrible dilemma. If he reveals his identity, he will effectively end his wife's new marriage by revealing it to be illegal. He will also brand her child as illegitimate, causing him to be an outcast in the Jewish community. Unable to destroy the lives of those he loves, he retreats to the cemetery outside the town. There he confides in the custodian by telling him his tale of woe. The custodian takes pity on this sad, godly man and keeps his secret and supplies him with food and shelter. When Menashe dies shortly after, the custodian has him buried in the very plot his wife had arranged when she thought him dead two years previously.
What does this story mean? It is a parable about losing one's name and finding it. When Menashe was a decent, kind man, his good name was his passport, as symbolized by the rabbi's letter. When he sold the letter, he was acting out of character by doing something for a quick dishonest buck. By selling the letter, he literally gave away his name. It was if the real Menashe ceased to exist. Only later, when he performs his immense act of self-sacrifice, does he receive his name and therefore his identity again. By being buried under his own gravestone, his name is restored. Menashe is alive again (ironically at the point of his death).
Our actions are a representation of our name, our integrity, our identity. When we abandon the high calling to live like Christ, we abandon our Christian identity. We are not saved by our own actions, but we are known by them. Jesus told his own disciples that they would be known (identified as followers of Jesus) by how much they loved each other. Their actions typified their name.
- From the book The Shaping Of Things To Come
Monday, May 22, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Legos Just Got Cooler...
I've never been a big Lego fan, I didn't play with them much as a kid because I wasn't really that creative back then. However, I'm always amazed at the different uses for them. There are now three Legoland parks with lego creations, rides, etc.
However, I stumbled upon a site that made Legos even cooler. It's a website that illustrates Bible stories using Legos. How cool is that?
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
I'm So Proud...
of my wife Debby. If you know her, you know she has long hair. She's pretty much had long hair for all but a couple of years of her life.
A month ago, she heard that a girl who was battling cancer and who had lost all her hair was in need of a "hair donor" who would be willing to cut off ten inches of hair so that this girl could have a wig.
Today, she got the ten inches cut off. And she donated it to this little girl through the organization Locks Of Love. I'm proud of her, because I know her hair means a great deal to her. It's all about making the little (or big) differences in someone else's life. :)
A month ago, she heard that a girl who was battling cancer and who had lost all her hair was in need of a "hair donor" who would be willing to cut off ten inches of hair so that this girl could have a wig.
Today, she got the ten inches cut off. And she donated it to this little girl through the organization Locks Of Love. I'm proud of her, because I know her hair means a great deal to her. It's all about making the little (or big) differences in someone else's life. :)
Monday, May 15, 2006
Everyone's An Expert...
I have to admit that lately I've really needed a good laugh, so where else to find a good laugh but the internet? Today I laughed like crazy at this short video from BBC news. During one of their actual newscasts, the newswoman interviews a man who she believes to be an expert in the field of computer business and she asks him several questions about the legal battle between Apple Computers and the Beatles' Apple record label. The guy who she is interviewing was obviously brought in to do something else, as you can tell at the beginning of the clip - when he gets introduced, he becomes very nervous since he knows that he is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Classic. (There are two versions of this movie, I picked the one where BBC explains what's going on because it helps make sense of it).
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Friday, May 12, 2006
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually
"Like lightning to the children eased
Through revelation kind
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind."
- Emily Dickinson
I have submerged myself into what I am beginning to call "missional kingdom theology". Pretty much every book I'm reading right now (except for another quick reading of The Da Vinci Code, since we're doing a series on it soon) is focused on the idea of what it means to live as a missional-minded person who believes Jesus when he says "The Kingdom of God is within you." Books by Brian McLaren, N.T. Wright and others have smacked me across the head with some interesting new(old) ideas.
However, I'm beginning to feel "the bends" - I've submerged myself too quickly without allowing the pressure within me slowly acclimate to the pressure of my surroundings, in this case, missional kingdom thinking. I am now in the process of taking one book at a time, reading slowly, writing down my thoughts, and allowing God to work through these books in such a way that I will be ready to make appropriate changes to my life and ministry in due time.
The truth must dazzle gradually.
Through revelation kind
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind."
- Emily Dickinson
I have submerged myself into what I am beginning to call "missional kingdom theology". Pretty much every book I'm reading right now (except for another quick reading of The Da Vinci Code, since we're doing a series on it soon) is focused on the idea of what it means to live as a missional-minded person who believes Jesus when he says "The Kingdom of God is within you." Books by Brian McLaren, N.T. Wright and others have smacked me across the head with some interesting new(old) ideas.
However, I'm beginning to feel "the bends" - I've submerged myself too quickly without allowing the pressure within me slowly acclimate to the pressure of my surroundings, in this case, missional kingdom thinking. I am now in the process of taking one book at a time, reading slowly, writing down my thoughts, and allowing God to work through these books in such a way that I will be ready to make appropriate changes to my life and ministry in due time.
The truth must dazzle gradually.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code Movie
I thought this was an interesting interview. I laughed out loud when McLaren says that the Da Vinci Code novel has caused possibly less harm to Christianity than the Left Behind novels. Here you go...
------
Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code
An interview by Lisa Ann Cockrel
With The Da Vinci Code poised to go from bestseller list to the big screen on May 19, pastor and writer (and Sojourners board member) Brian McLaren talks about why he thinks there's truth in the controversial book's fiction.
- What do you think the popularity of The Da Vinci Code reveals about pop culture attitudes toward Christianity and the church?
Brian McLaren: I think a lot of people have read the book, not just as a popular page-turner but also as an experience in shared frustration with status-quo, male-dominated, power-oriented, cover-up-prone organized Christian religion. We need to ask ourselves why the vision of Jesus hinted at in Dan Brown's book is more interesting, attractive, and intriguing to these people than the standard vision of Jesus they hear about in church. Why would so many people be disappointed to find that Brown's version of Jesus has been largely discredited as fanciful and inaccurate, leaving only the church's conventional version? Is it possible that, even though Brown's fictional version misleads in many ways, it at least serves to open up the possibility that the church's conventional version of Jesus may not do him justice?
- So you think The Da Vinci Code taps into dissatisfaction with Jesus as we know him?
McLaren: For all the flaws of Brown's book, I think what he's doing is suggesting that the dominant religious institutions have created their own caricature of Jesus. And I think people have a sense that that's true. It's my honest feeling that anyone trying to share their faith in America today has to realize that the Religious Right has polluted the air. The name "Jesus" and the word "Christianity" are associated with something judgmental, hostile, hypocritical, angry, negative, defensive, anti-homosexual, etc. Many of our churches, even though they feel they represent the truth, actually are upholding something that's distorted and false.
I also think that the whole issue of male domination is huge and that Brown's suggestion that the real Jesus was not as misogynist or anti-woman as the Christian religion often has been is very attractive. Brown's book is about exposing hypocrisy and cover-up in organized religion, and it is exposing organized religion's grasping for power. Again, there's something in that that people resonate with in the age of pedophilia scandals, televangelists, and religious political alliances. As a follower of Jesus I resonate with their concerns as well.
- Do you think the book contains any significantly detrimental distortions of the Christian faith?
McLaren: The book is fiction and it's filled with a lot of fiction about a lot of things that a lot of people have already debunked. But frankly, I don't think it has more harmful ideas in it than the Left Behind novels. And in a certain way, what the Left Behind novels do, the way they twist scripture toward a certain theological and political end, I think Brown is twisting scripture, just to other political ends. But at the end of the day, the difference is I don't think Brown really cares that much about theology. He just wanted to write a page-turner and he was very successful at that.
- Many Christians are also reading this book and it's rocking their preconceived notions - or lack of preconceived notions - about Christ's life and the early years of the church. So many people don't know how we got the canon, for example. Should this book be a clarion call to the church to say, "Hey, we need to have a body of believers who are much more literate in church history." Is that something the church needs to be thinking about more strategically?
McLaren: Yes! You're exactly right. One of the problems is that the average Christian in the average church who listens to the average Christian broadcasting has such an oversimplified understanding of both the Bible and of church history - it would be deeply disturbing for them to really learn about church history. I think the disturbing would do them good. But a lot of times education is disturbing for people. And so if The Da Vinci Code causes people to ask questions and Christians have to dig deeper, that's a great thing, a great opportunity for growth. And it does show a weakness in the church giving either no understanding of church history or a very stilted, one-sided, sugarcoated version.
On the other hand, it's important for me to say I don't think anyone can learn good church history from Brown. There's been a lot of debunking of what he calls facts. But again, the guy's writing fiction so nobody should be surprised about that. The sad thing is there's an awful lot of us who claim to be telling objective truth and we actually have our own propaganda and our own versions of history as well.
Let me mention one other thing about Brown's book that I think is appealing to people. The church goes through a pendulum swing at times from overemphasizing the deity of Christ to overemphasizing the humanity of Christ. So a book like Brown's that overemphasizes the humanity of Christ can be a mirror to us saying that we might be underemphasizing the humanity of Christ.
- In light of The Da Vinci Code movie that is soon to be released, how do you hope churches will engage this story?
McLaren: I would like to see churches teach their people how to have intelligent dialogue that doesn't degenerate into argument. We have to teach people that the Holy Spirit works in the middle of conversation. We see it time and time again - Jesus enters into dialogue with people; Paul and Peter and the apostles enter into dialogue with people. We tend to think that the Holy Spirit can only work in the middle of a monologue where we are doing the speaking.
So if our churches can encourage people to, if you see someone reading the book or you know someone who's gone to the movie, say, "What do you think about Jesus and what do you think about this or that," and to ask questions instead of getting into arguments, that would be wonderful. The more we can keep conversations open and going the more chances we give the Holy Spirit to work. But too often people want to get into an argument right away. And, you know, Jesus has handled 2,000 years of questions, skepticism, and attacks, and he's gonna come through just fine. So we don't have to be worried.
Ultimately, The Da Vinci Code is telling us important things about the image of Jesus that is being portrayed by the dominant Christian voices. [Readers] don't find that satisfactory, genuine, or authentic, so they're looking for something that seems more real and authentic.
------
Brian McLaren on The Da Vinci Code
An interview by Lisa Ann Cockrel
With The Da Vinci Code poised to go from bestseller list to the big screen on May 19, pastor and writer (and Sojourners board member) Brian McLaren talks about why he thinks there's truth in the controversial book's fiction.
- What do you think the popularity of The Da Vinci Code reveals about pop culture attitudes toward Christianity and the church?
Brian McLaren: I think a lot of people have read the book, not just as a popular page-turner but also as an experience in shared frustration with status-quo, male-dominated, power-oriented, cover-up-prone organized Christian religion. We need to ask ourselves why the vision of Jesus hinted at in Dan Brown's book is more interesting, attractive, and intriguing to these people than the standard vision of Jesus they hear about in church. Why would so many people be disappointed to find that Brown's version of Jesus has been largely discredited as fanciful and inaccurate, leaving only the church's conventional version? Is it possible that, even though Brown's fictional version misleads in many ways, it at least serves to open up the possibility that the church's conventional version of Jesus may not do him justice?
- So you think The Da Vinci Code taps into dissatisfaction with Jesus as we know him?
McLaren: For all the flaws of Brown's book, I think what he's doing is suggesting that the dominant religious institutions have created their own caricature of Jesus. And I think people have a sense that that's true. It's my honest feeling that anyone trying to share their faith in America today has to realize that the Religious Right has polluted the air. The name "Jesus" and the word "Christianity" are associated with something judgmental, hostile, hypocritical, angry, negative, defensive, anti-homosexual, etc. Many of our churches, even though they feel they represent the truth, actually are upholding something that's distorted and false.
I also think that the whole issue of male domination is huge and that Brown's suggestion that the real Jesus was not as misogynist or anti-woman as the Christian religion often has been is very attractive. Brown's book is about exposing hypocrisy and cover-up in organized religion, and it is exposing organized religion's grasping for power. Again, there's something in that that people resonate with in the age of pedophilia scandals, televangelists, and religious political alliances. As a follower of Jesus I resonate with their concerns as well.
- Do you think the book contains any significantly detrimental distortions of the Christian faith?
McLaren: The book is fiction and it's filled with a lot of fiction about a lot of things that a lot of people have already debunked. But frankly, I don't think it has more harmful ideas in it than the Left Behind novels. And in a certain way, what the Left Behind novels do, the way they twist scripture toward a certain theological and political end, I think Brown is twisting scripture, just to other political ends. But at the end of the day, the difference is I don't think Brown really cares that much about theology. He just wanted to write a page-turner and he was very successful at that.
- Many Christians are also reading this book and it's rocking their preconceived notions - or lack of preconceived notions - about Christ's life and the early years of the church. So many people don't know how we got the canon, for example. Should this book be a clarion call to the church to say, "Hey, we need to have a body of believers who are much more literate in church history." Is that something the church needs to be thinking about more strategically?
McLaren: Yes! You're exactly right. One of the problems is that the average Christian in the average church who listens to the average Christian broadcasting has such an oversimplified understanding of both the Bible and of church history - it would be deeply disturbing for them to really learn about church history. I think the disturbing would do them good. But a lot of times education is disturbing for people. And so if The Da Vinci Code causes people to ask questions and Christians have to dig deeper, that's a great thing, a great opportunity for growth. And it does show a weakness in the church giving either no understanding of church history or a very stilted, one-sided, sugarcoated version.
On the other hand, it's important for me to say I don't think anyone can learn good church history from Brown. There's been a lot of debunking of what he calls facts. But again, the guy's writing fiction so nobody should be surprised about that. The sad thing is there's an awful lot of us who claim to be telling objective truth and we actually have our own propaganda and our own versions of history as well.
Let me mention one other thing about Brown's book that I think is appealing to people. The church goes through a pendulum swing at times from overemphasizing the deity of Christ to overemphasizing the humanity of Christ. So a book like Brown's that overemphasizes the humanity of Christ can be a mirror to us saying that we might be underemphasizing the humanity of Christ.
- In light of The Da Vinci Code movie that is soon to be released, how do you hope churches will engage this story?
McLaren: I would like to see churches teach their people how to have intelligent dialogue that doesn't degenerate into argument. We have to teach people that the Holy Spirit works in the middle of conversation. We see it time and time again - Jesus enters into dialogue with people; Paul and Peter and the apostles enter into dialogue with people. We tend to think that the Holy Spirit can only work in the middle of a monologue where we are doing the speaking.
So if our churches can encourage people to, if you see someone reading the book or you know someone who's gone to the movie, say, "What do you think about Jesus and what do you think about this or that," and to ask questions instead of getting into arguments, that would be wonderful. The more we can keep conversations open and going the more chances we give the Holy Spirit to work. But too often people want to get into an argument right away. And, you know, Jesus has handled 2,000 years of questions, skepticism, and attacks, and he's gonna come through just fine. So we don't have to be worried.
Ultimately, The Da Vinci Code is telling us important things about the image of Jesus that is being portrayed by the dominant Christian voices. [Readers] don't find that satisfactory, genuine, or authentic, so they're looking for something that seems more real and authentic.
Monday, May 08, 2006
World Fair Trade Day
This weekend is a special weekend for many people as they celebrate Mother's Day.
Now you have another reason to make it special.
May 13th is World Fair Trade Day. Fair Trade is something that is very important in our world today as more and more world-conscious people are realizing how unfair a lot of trade practices are and thus are turning to companies who treat poor laborers fairly by paying them what they are worth.
I would encourage everyone to figure out how they can help make trade fair in the world today. Learning what you can do is part of the figuring out.
Review of Hillsong United's new CD "United We Stand"
Thanks to Kyle, a guy on my worship team, I have just recently discovered this worship band - the youth band from Hillsong Church in Australia. I have done a few Hillsong songs, but I've been veering away from them recently because they just aren't the style that we're looking for in worship.
Hillsong United is, however. The first CD I heard was Look To You, and immediately I liked it. We have started to do the song "Salvation Is Here" recently and it's been a good song to introduce.
The latest Hillsong United CD is out and without further adieu, here's my review of it, song by song.
Song #1: An Introduction - 10/10
I love how this CD starts out - a minute and a half instrumental that reminds me of Coldplay or U2. It then blends right into song #2.
Song #2: The Time Has Come - 8/10
Again, reminds me of Coldplay's and U2's more upbeat songs. I really like this song - I like the different changes, and the bass player for Hillsong United kicks. Of course, so does the guitarist and the drummer and the...
Song #3: Take It All - 6/10
I think I will like this song better the more I listen to this CD, but to me it seems like a hard song to introduce into worship.
Song #4: From God Above - 7/10
One thing I like about Hillsong United is that their songs musically don't seem to be very formulaic, a problem I find in other worship artists (see Chris Tomlin). This is an interesting song, to say the least. I like it.
Song #5: From The Inside Out - 10/10
My favorite song on this CD, at least so far. I love the words, I love the melody, I love how they sing the "Everlasting your light will shine when all else fails" part as part of each verse, then towards the end it becomes part of the chorus. Brilliant. We are introducing this song this coming Sunday, and I'm excited.
Song #6: Came To The Rescue - 10/10
Song #5 and #6 pack a powerful wallop together. This is one that I'm going to suggest my female worship leaders introduce, I think they'll like it. I love the sound of the guitar on this song, it's killer.
Song #7: A Reprise - 10/10
The organ starts out this reprise, and it sounds great. Then that killer guitar from song #6 comes back. Then quietly the refrain from the last song comes through:
In my life, be lifted high
In my world, be lifted high
In my love, be lifted high
It builds and builds coming to an incredible crescendo with everyone singing and playing loud. I would love for our church to be as responsive as this.
Song #8: None But Jesus - 8/10
The first song on this CD sung by a female leader. It's a very soothing song, and I really like the lyrics. I also like what sounds like an e-bow in the background. I love e-bows. I need to get one of our electric guitarists to get excited about learning how to play one.
Song #9: Selah - 6/10
I like the sound, but it's rather bland.
Song #10: Fire Fall Down - 9/10
A long, long song (almost eleven minutes!) but it's incredible. The music reminds me of one of Delirious' slower songs off of Glo. Do I have to mention again how much I love the guitar work on this CD? This is the kind of stuff I would like to see us move to - we've been doing a little more experimentation like this (Invitation Fountain by The Violet Burning, throwing in some U2 riffs here and there, more dramatic pauses, etc.), but I want us to do more. Of course, this song builds as well into a full out audio arsenal.
Song #11: Revolution - 7/10
It's an interesting song, to say the least. I'm not fond of the chorus - either the lyrics or the melody, but I love the verses. Almost ska-like!
Song #12: Kingdom Come - 8/10
When the song first started, I really wanted to not like it, because it sounded similar to a couple other songs on this CD, notably the first one. But then the chorus hit, and I realized I really liked this song.
Song #13: No One Like You - 5/10
Too repetitive. But I know that on each CD they have a song with repetitive words, so maybe I'm just digging here.
Song #14: Sovereign Hands - 6/10
Sounds a little too much like the main Hillsongs stuff.
Song #15: The Stand - 7/10
This is a long CD. I think my judgment is getting cloudy because of how long this CD is. But this is a solid song.
Song #16: Selah - 7/10
Nice instrumental. Getting woozy.
Song #17: Hallelujah - 8/10
Great way to end this CD. Yes, it's repetitive, but it's better than Our God Reigns off of the new Passion CD. Interestingly, it also contains the words "Our God Reigns". Hmmm.
Well, that's it. A lot of songs, you definitely get your money worth. And I wholeheartedly recommend this CD. It is an incredible worship CD. And you get a DVD with it, which shows you when they did these songs live. Very passionate, very moving. I love it.
Hillsong United is, however. The first CD I heard was Look To You, and immediately I liked it. We have started to do the song "Salvation Is Here" recently and it's been a good song to introduce.
The latest Hillsong United CD is out and without further adieu, here's my review of it, song by song.
Song #1: An Introduction - 10/10
I love how this CD starts out - a minute and a half instrumental that reminds me of Coldplay or U2. It then blends right into song #2.
Song #2: The Time Has Come - 8/10
Again, reminds me of Coldplay's and U2's more upbeat songs. I really like this song - I like the different changes, and the bass player for Hillsong United kicks. Of course, so does the guitarist and the drummer and the...
Song #3: Take It All - 6/10
I think I will like this song better the more I listen to this CD, but to me it seems like a hard song to introduce into worship.
Song #4: From God Above - 7/10
One thing I like about Hillsong United is that their songs musically don't seem to be very formulaic, a problem I find in other worship artists (see Chris Tomlin). This is an interesting song, to say the least. I like it.
Song #5: From The Inside Out - 10/10
My favorite song on this CD, at least so far. I love the words, I love the melody, I love how they sing the "Everlasting your light will shine when all else fails" part as part of each verse, then towards the end it becomes part of the chorus. Brilliant. We are introducing this song this coming Sunday, and I'm excited.
Song #6: Came To The Rescue - 10/10
Song #5 and #6 pack a powerful wallop together. This is one that I'm going to suggest my female worship leaders introduce, I think they'll like it. I love the sound of the guitar on this song, it's killer.
Song #7: A Reprise - 10/10
The organ starts out this reprise, and it sounds great. Then that killer guitar from song #6 comes back. Then quietly the refrain from the last song comes through:
In my life, be lifted high
In my world, be lifted high
In my love, be lifted high
It builds and builds coming to an incredible crescendo with everyone singing and playing loud. I would love for our church to be as responsive as this.
Song #8: None But Jesus - 8/10
The first song on this CD sung by a female leader. It's a very soothing song, and I really like the lyrics. I also like what sounds like an e-bow in the background. I love e-bows. I need to get one of our electric guitarists to get excited about learning how to play one.
Song #9: Selah - 6/10
I like the sound, but it's rather bland.
Song #10: Fire Fall Down - 9/10
A long, long song (almost eleven minutes!) but it's incredible. The music reminds me of one of Delirious' slower songs off of Glo. Do I have to mention again how much I love the guitar work on this CD? This is the kind of stuff I would like to see us move to - we've been doing a little more experimentation like this (Invitation Fountain by The Violet Burning, throwing in some U2 riffs here and there, more dramatic pauses, etc.), but I want us to do more. Of course, this song builds as well into a full out audio arsenal.
Song #11: Revolution - 7/10
It's an interesting song, to say the least. I'm not fond of the chorus - either the lyrics or the melody, but I love the verses. Almost ska-like!
Song #12: Kingdom Come - 8/10
When the song first started, I really wanted to not like it, because it sounded similar to a couple other songs on this CD, notably the first one. But then the chorus hit, and I realized I really liked this song.
Song #13: No One Like You - 5/10
Too repetitive. But I know that on each CD they have a song with repetitive words, so maybe I'm just digging here.
Song #14: Sovereign Hands - 6/10
Sounds a little too much like the main Hillsongs stuff.
Song #15: The Stand - 7/10
This is a long CD. I think my judgment is getting cloudy because of how long this CD is. But this is a solid song.
Song #16: Selah - 7/10
Nice instrumental. Getting woozy.
Song #17: Hallelujah - 8/10
Great way to end this CD. Yes, it's repetitive, but it's better than Our God Reigns off of the new Passion CD. Interestingly, it also contains the words "Our God Reigns". Hmmm.
Well, that's it. A lot of songs, you definitely get your money worth. And I wholeheartedly recommend this CD. It is an incredible worship CD. And you get a DVD with it, which shows you when they did these songs live. Very passionate, very moving. I love it.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Boycotting Fiction
Zach has it so right when it comes to the latest boycotting movement by Christians. This time, let's have everyone boycott The Da Vinci Code.
That's right, folks. Let's boycott a fictional movie based on a fictional novel. The movie producers are probably freaking out right now - no, not over the boycott. They are probably excited about the amount of publicity that this dumb boycott will give the movie, which means more money for them and for the movie itself.
This reminds me of the huge boycott of The Last Temptation of Christ - a movie based on a fictional novel. The movie wasn't presenting their version of the gospel as truth. It was just a different idea (that perhaps took it a little too far).
Boycotting fiction. Another smart idea in the annals of Christendom.
That's right, folks. Let's boycott a fictional movie based on a fictional novel. The movie producers are probably freaking out right now - no, not over the boycott. They are probably excited about the amount of publicity that this dumb boycott will give the movie, which means more money for them and for the movie itself.
This reminds me of the huge boycott of The Last Temptation of Christ - a movie based on a fictional novel. The movie wasn't presenting their version of the gospel as truth. It was just a different idea (that perhaps took it a little too far).
Boycotting fiction. Another smart idea in the annals of Christendom.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Review of Passion's New CD "Everything Glorious"
Well, I've listened to it for awhile now, so I think I can make a pretty good review/analysis of this CD.
Song #1: Awesome Is The Lord Most High - 7/10
I think this song doesn't start off very well, and it's Tomlin, which means it's going to be too high for me to sing in the regular key - I always seem to have to change the key with Tomlin. But it's a solid song.
Song #2: Glorious - 7/10
Again, too high. But I really like the interraction between Tomlin and Christy Nockels on this song.
Song #3: Party - 0/10
This is now my least favorite Passion song. It's stupid. And this is an indicator of an annoying feature of this CD - worship leader starts the song, pauses for 30 seconds to work the crowd up, and then starts it up again (see later songs to see what I mean)
Song #4: Jesus Paid It All - 10/10
One thing I do love about Passion is that they do a great job of taking hymns and jazzing them up. This one was led by Kristian Stanfill, my favorite worship leader as of right now. I heard from a friend of mine that a couple of people from his church went to the Passion event, and when Kristian came up and started leading, they said to each other, "Who is this guy?" My response to that is "who the heck cares who it is? Was he not on your list of pre-approved worship leaders? Because his name isn't Chris, David, Charlie or Matt? Grrr."
Anyway, this is my favorite song on the CD.
Song #5: All We Need - 8/10
If you know me, you know my dislike for Charlie Hall's involvement with Passion. I just don't like his songs. His latest CD, Flying Into Daybreak, has left me pleasantly surprised, however, and I really like this song off of it. I took off two marks because of the annoying electronica that starts this song.
Song #6: Center - 7/10
Again - pleasantly surprised.
Song #7: We Are Yours - 5/10
Don't like the sound of this song.
Song #8: You Never Let Go - 7/10
Or as I like to call it, Blessed Be Your Name Part 2. But I like the idea. I think there should be more Lament type songs written, and Matt Redman has written two good ones.
Song #9: I Stand Amazed - 7/10
Another great reworking of a hymn. I like Tomlin's voice on this one. Again, too high.
Song #10: Everything Glorious - 5/10
I was disappointed in David Crowder most of all with this CD. I didn't like the ones off A Collision for the passion CD. He should have gone with Foreverandever, etc. and Wholly Yours in my opinion. This new one doesn't impress me at all.
Song #11: You Are My Joy - 5/10
Here we see the feature of starting the song, waiting 30 seconds, and starting it up again - again. What's the point? If it's to work the crowd into a frenzy, why don't you just drop live scorpions from the ceiling? It's a lot more effective, and you don't have to waste a song doing so.
Song #12: We Win - 3/10
Putting this song on a worship CD reminds me of the time when I took my student ministry to a conference. Actually, I think our worship band was the band for the conference. Anyway, the speaker closes out his message and says, "Let's pray. Dear Satan..." We were all a little perplexed at first, to say the least.
How does this relate? Because who is the song "We Win" directed to?
We've already won and you don't stand a chance...
It doesn't sound like a song directed to God, does it? David Crowder, what happened to you on this CD?
Song #13: Our God Reigns - 5/10
Disappointing ending, in my opinion. Let's sing the same thing for six and a half minutes! Yes! No.
Extra Song #1: Salvation Is Here - 9/10
This song was not included on the full-length CD but was offered on an early release EP from iTunes.
Again, Kristian Stanfill does a great job. This song is a Hillsongs United song, one of my favorites. I don't think it's as powerful as the original Hillsongs version, but it's still great. I don't know why this song didn't make the final cut, personally.
Extra Song #2: Made To Worship - 7/10
This was also offered on an early release EP from iTunes. I like it. Good song.
Monday, May 01, 2006
So Long Red Wings
Yes, I know that the Avs did not play the Wings in the playoffs this year, but this was the only appropriate picture I could find.
I'm not going to rub it in too much, Red Wings fans...
And I am sad to see Yzerman go.
But still - seeing that I had no expectations that my Avalanche were going to do anything this year, it's very weird that they're moving on and the Red Wings aren't.
Oh well, always next year. Cheers!
B Collision
I'm a huge David Crowder Band fan. I thoroughly enjoyed the latest CD called A Collision - although to be honest, I don't feel like a lot of the songs translate well in a congregational worship setting.
Which is why I was disappointed with the song selection of Crowder songs off the latest Passion CD. You Are My Joy is a good song - but I really didn't like the way it was done.
We Win seems like it's a song directed to the devil - "'cause we've already won and you don't have a chance" - yet it's on a worship CD.
The newest song by DCB, called Everything Glorious just hasn't hit me right yet.
So when I heard that they were going to release another CD called B Collision, I was rather unexcited. I figured it would be another "mash-ups" type CD like Sunsets and Sushi.
But then I found out it was going to be acoustic renditions of songs off of A Collision. Now I'm excited again.
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